FRS 001J —
Sec. 001 —
(1 unit) — CRN 55876 — M 4:10-5:00 pm — 25 Wellman
Pomp and Circumstance: British Classical Music Hits (and Misses)
in the 20th Century
Instructor: John Fetzer, Department of German, College of Letters and
Science
Description: The aim of this seminar is to kindle interest in
British (English, Irish, Scottish) "classical" music of the
20th century,
building on a foundation with which the students might be familiar from other
contexts (for instance, Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance"
march from high
school graduation, film scores featuring such light¬weight war
horses as Richard
Addinsell's "Warsaw Concerto", and PBS television programs
using excerpts
from such works as Britten's "A Young Peoples' Guide to the
Orchestra"
or Holst's "Planets"). No attempt will be made to be comprehensive;
rather the discussions and examples will be incisively selective.
Short snippets
from the musically accessible works of a variety of British composers
will illustrate
features which might be characterized as typically British (such as the use of
intrinsic folk melodies and rhythms or the harmonic patterns and progressions
of Vaughn Williams). If time permits, some of these British
characteristics will
be traced in (and compared with) the musical score for the film cycle "The
Lord of the Rings" by the Canadian-born composer Howard Shore. Fundamental
musical forms such as the overture, suite, symphony, concerto, etc.
will be introduced.
A guest lecturer, Dr. David Deffner will speak on key examples of British vocal
music, with specific reference to John Rutter. Some of the other composers who
might be represented include: Alwyn, Bantock, Bax, Bliss, Bridge,
Britten, Butterworth,
Coates, P.M. Davis, Delius, Elgar, Holst, Rinzi, MacCunn, Moeran,
Parry, Ireland,
Cyril Scott, Stanford, Tavener, Tippett, Vaughn Williams, Walton, Warlock and
perhaps even some of the symphonic works of Paul McCartney.
Format: The class will meet for one hour each week
for ten weeks.
At each meeting there will be brief introductory remarks by the
instructor, augmented
by short musical examples in order to illustrate the lines of
development in British
music in the 20th century from the heritage of Romanticism to works
in the modern
idiom. The remainder of the hour will be devoted to comments and questions by
the students. Two short papers (three pages each) will be required,
each dealing
with aspects of a single work which the student himself selects,
listens to, and
comments on. Grading: Each paper will constitute 20% of
the course grade, the other 20% being based on class contributions.
About the Instructor: John Fetzer received his BA
from New York
University, his MA from Columbia University, and his Ph.D. from the University
of California, Berkeley. Prior to coming to UC Davis in 1965 he taught at the
University of Georgia and Northwestern University. His publications
include books
on Romantic and modern German writers, and about fifty articles dealing with a
wide variety of topics. After retiring in 1993, he has continued his teaching
and research, while also devoting himself to musical composition,
choral singing,
as well as to daily tennis and weekly golf.